Indigenous boarding school hopes for Gonski funds

The only Indigenous-specific boarding school in central Australia for students from remote communities is facing funding challenges.

Tim Stollznow, the chairman of the Yirara College management committee, says funding has not kept up with the cost of running the school.

Mr Stollznow says it is mostly funded by the Federal Government and run by the Finke River Mission.

He is hoping for more funding under the proposed Gonski deal.

"It's a matter of holding strong at the moment and getting to the end of this year and seeing what Gonski brings us," he said.

"If there are ongoing issues there I am certainly very happy to get on a plane and fly to Canberra and talk to whoever is the education minister of the day and make sure that we get the funds we need to deliver a great program."

Attendance at the college is down.

Mr Stollznow says payments of students' travel costs from communities to the school take a long time.

"Centrelink, who I understand is responsible for the Abstudy registration process, is not always as responsive as what we would like them to be and to what the situation requires," he said.

"For example, we need to register a student six weeks before they travel if they are travelling back home."

The Federal Government says the college would receive more money if the NT signs up to its school funding model.

A spokeswoman for federal School Education Minister Peter Garrett says under the Gonski funding model, the school would receive more money because it has only Indigenous students, is in a remote location and students have low literacy skills.

However, the spokeswoman says the extra funding will only come through if the NT Government signs up to the Federal Government's school funding deal.